What I Learned from Vocal Training

Hello.

For those meeting me for the first time, nice to meet you.
For those I am already close with, thank you for your continued support.

My name is Michael KOBA.

Oh, you can leave out the KOBA part.
I figured it would be a hassle to keep switching to alphabet input lol

This time, I'd like to talk a little bit about my work as a musician (which I insist is my main profession lol).

Please sit back and relax.

While I spend my days now with a guitar in one hand... no, playing and singing with both hands,
I was originally a vocalist.

I started playing guitar about four years ago (just) to look cool lol.
(That's usually the motivation for guitarists, isn't it? lol)

Anyway, putting the guitar aside, this story is about my vocal days.

I hate to say it myself, but I've been a good singer since I was a child.
(...Seriously, what is with that? lol)

I once appeared on NHK's Nodojiman and rang the bell twice.
(Not three times?)

Yeah, I had a cold back then and wasn't in good shape.
(Don't make such a cliché excuse lol)

But, it suddenly occurred to me.

"What would happen if I were properly taught by a professional!?"

I thought.
(Stop with the dialect!)

In a way, I was annoyed by my own ego, which had grown quite large at the time lol.

I wanted to see the "reality" properly, and I wanted to realize just how much of a frog in a well I was,
that's what I thought.
(That's the mindset of a certain battle anime protagonist, isn't it? lol)

"I want to fight someone even stronger!"
...something like that, haha.

So, on the very day I thought of it, I signed up for a vocal audition.

That was about five years ago.

I passed the audition without any issues, but the goal of that production company was

"to promote the audition winners and produce original songs at a professional level."

That was what it was.

In other words, I was able to receive genuine professional training.
It was exactly what I had wished for.

However, the lessons were, of course, strict.

At one point, my vocal coach said this to me:

"You are good at singing."

The me back then, who was in full-on aggressive, fired-up mode (?), couldn't let that slide.

"What do you mean by 'are'?"

↑I really did say exactly that back to them, haha.
I imagine my tone was quite low, too.

Seriously, how aggressive was I back then, haha!

There's nothing to it. It means exactly what it says.

The teacher answered smoothly and with a smile.

She continued,

Today, instead of an exercise song, let's sing the song you love most in the world, Michael!

she said happily, spreading her arms wide.

Oh? You said that, did you?
Bring it on! If it's my favorite song, that's a different story!!
I'll make you regret saying that!!!

...How incredibly rude of me...
But honestly, that's exactly what I thought lol

When I say I love someone, it's BUMP OF CHICKEN.
That's the only choice. No objections allowed lol

So, I sang 'Tentai Kansoku' with my whole heart and soul lol

You're really good. You must really love Bump, or rather, Motoo Fujiwara (the vocalist), right?

That was the teacher's reaction.

To my answer of 'of course,' the teacher said this:

Unfortunately, you cannot surpass Motoo Fujiwara.

Even if you can't surpass Fujiwara-san, you want to be like him, don't you? But please stop trying to be Fujiwara-san starting today. Michael-san, you have already moved past that step.

???
I had absolutely no idea what that meant.

"Only Motoo Fujiwara can surpass Motoo Fujiwara.
He is not the target you should be trying to surpass.

The only person you can [surpass] is [yourself].

Believe in yourself more, let go, and try to purely enjoy singing!!"

It was like being hit over the head with something; I was in shock.

I see, I wasn'tenjoying it...! I don't really remember how I walked home that day.

Comparing myself to someone or something better and trying to surpass them someday.

It sounds good when you call it ambition, but
it's just jealousy.

It's true that you need a "model" at first.
But a model is just a model. There's no need to surpass it.

The one you truly need to "surpass" is yourself.
You must surpass the self that has continued to fake, deceive, and betray with superficial techniques.

When you can do even a little of that,
I'm sure you'll be able to laugh from the heart. You'll be able to enjoy it.

Regaining my true self.
That was the biggest thing I learned from vocal training.

Teacher, thank you so much!

Oh, right.

In the end, I did have an original song made for me.
Now that I have a guitar, I think I'll take the opportunity to upload the audio to note lol

Because I think I can sing happily now.

Thank you for staying with me until the end! This was Michael.

(I wrote this article as an entry for the "Monoka Kingdom." Thank you for letting me participate! It was a lot of fun to write♪)